


Sea of Denial

by Inkforwords, literaryoblivion



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Presents, Christmas Shopping, Fluff and Humor, Kissing, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, M/M, Post-Season/Series 02, Shopping, Star Wars References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:01:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21944779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkforwords/pseuds/Inkforwords, https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryoblivion/pseuds/literaryoblivion
Summary: “You like him,” she said, this time as a statement of fact, rather than a question.“No. I don’t. I mean, yes. I like him as a friend, yeah,” Stiles spluttered out, not quite sure why. Lydia just stared at him.“Uh huh,” she said, incredulously.“As a friend,” he repeated, driving the point; probably unnecessarily because there was no way he could fool Lydia.“Right. When you’re done swimming in that sea of denial, hopefully before you get all prune-y, let me know, and I’ll get you a towel while you hop out.”
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 14
Kudos: 470
Collections: 12 Days of Sterek





	Sea of Denial

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in a vaguely post-season 2 time period in which Derek is still an alpha and supernatural craziness is mostly under control by the pack these days and they are in college. Yeah, I don't know, just go with it.

Lydia’s straw slipped out of her mouth, her eyes squinting at Stiles who sat across from her. “You like him, don’t you?”

“What?!” Stiles shouted; a little too loudly, considering they were in a pretty crowded diner, full of people that had clearly noticed his outburst.

Stiles had just finished explaining his latest supernatural-creature-fighting adventure to Lydia, at what was now becoming a weekly friend date. Stiles had long gotten over Lydia when he realized she was pretty much committed to Jackson. Since it’d been a few years since the whole “a werewolf attacked me and made me go crazy enough to drug everyone at my party just to bring him back from the dead” thing, Lydia was used to hearing about the crazy happenings that went on, because apparently Beacon Hills was a scary monster magnet.

They were both in college now; Stiles at the local community college, only because he didn’t want to leave his dad, not because he didn’t have the grades to get in somewhere better, and Lydia was at a college far enough away that she had a place there, but close enough that she came home every weekend. She had claimed it was because she could do free laundry at home and get free food, but Stiles knew it was because she missed home and seeing everyone and Stiles.

She and Stiles had quickly become best friends. When Stiles had confessed to having a crush on her, she said she knew but she didn’t feel that way, and instead of it becoming incredibly awkward, they became friends. And Stiles liked it that way better anyway, although it did take some time for his crush to slowly ebb away, and have it replaced with friendship. But now that they were friends, Stiles liked having someone he could vent and complain to who knew all about the crazy werewolf shenanigans, and could read him like a book, even when he couldn’t.

Like now.

He hadn’t even known where her interjection had come from. He had been excitedly explaining about the, what he was calling, “were-zilla” that the pack had tracked down in the woods, and how it was so huge and terrifying that Derek had to transform into his alpha form just to fight him off. And how Alpha-Derek looked fucking majestic, like he had just walked straight out of some National Geographic special about fierce beasts, complete with an awe-inspiring musical score.

“You _like_ him,” she said, this time as a statement of fact, rather than a question.

“No. I don’t. I mean, yes. I like him as a friend, yeah,” he spluttered out, not quite sure why. Lydia just stared at him.

“Uh huh,” she said, incredulously.

“As a friend,” he repeated, driving the point; probably unnecessarily because there was no way he could fool Lydia.

“Right. When you’re done swimming in that sea of denial, hopefully before you get all prune-y, let me know, and I’ll get you a towel while you hop out.”

Stiles looked at her like he didn’t know whether to protest again and defend himself, or to just accept that she was right, like always, and let her get that metaphorical towel.

“It doesn’t matter, anyway. I’m pretty sure I’m only a friend to Derek.”

Lydia rolled her eyes, “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Stiles was a little taken aback; Lydia usually never cussed, always trying to keep that proper lady reputation up, and really what was that for anyway?

“Do you not see the way he looks at you?” Lydia continued, ignoring the shock and affronted face Stiles was giving her.

“What way? Like he’s going to eat me? I really don’t think I should take that as a sign of affection, because he gives that look to everyone who even breathes too close to him.”

Lydia sighed. “Not that look. And besides, even that one is a little different when he’s giving it to you. Like he wants…” Lydia trailed off, and Stiles wanted to press her to figure out what the hell she was going to say. What, that he wants to completely ravish him and have his way with him, instead of just have him as a midnight snack? And yes, Stiles’ mind did just jump there, and wow, nope, back-tracking…

Lydia looked out the window next to their booth like she was trying to find the right words. “No, he gives you this look like he’s staring into your soul, like you’re his whole world, and you could break him into a thousand pieces if you told him to go away.”

His mouth hung open, and Stiles didn’t know how to react to that, and how could he not have picked up on that kind of look. Is this a girl thing? Is this a Lydia thing? Does she have some crazy radar that lets her notice these things while it just completely goes over his own head?

“Uh, I really don’t know what to say to that, and I’m pretty sure you’re reading way too much into those ‘Stiles probably tastes good with barbeque sauce’ looks. We’re just friends.”

Lydia stared at him like he was the dumbest person in the world.

“You are an idiot. No, you’re both idiots.” She paused. “You are _both_ doing laps in that sea of denial, and you both need to just come out and go take a shower together.” She huffed, grabbed her coat and purse as she slid out of the booth they were in, and walked towards the exit.

“Wait. Metaphorically?” Stiles shouted back, scrambling out of the booth and throwing a few bills on the table as a tip before chasing after her.

Lydia, of course, didn’t answer, and continued out of the diner to her car. By the time Stiles was in the parking lot, Lydia had already gotten her car door open and was about to climb inside. He ran up as she was getting in, reaching for the handle to shut the door.

“I thought we were going to go shopping for Christmas presents? You were going to help me pick out something for…” he stopped. Lydia lifted one eyebrow at him and stared at him like she was graciously giving him time to realize he was an idiot, and she was right.

Okay… so maybe Lydia had a point.

“I’m sure you can handle shopping for _Derek_ on your own. If you’re really desperate, text me pictures. I need to finish up an essay before I head back to campus tomorrow.” She waited for Stiles to step back before she shut her door and gave him one final wave and smile before pulling out of the lot and driving off.

Damn it. Why was Lydia always right?

Sighing, Stiles trekked to his Jeep and debated whether or not to brave the mall on a Saturday afternoon two weeks before Christmas. Deciding two weeks before was better than one week before, he started the engine and headed off towards the mall.

As he drove, he repeated what Lydia said… how she’d described the way Derek looked at him. Part of him didn’t want to believe her, that she was lying. But that wasn’t Lydia, and she wouldn’t make something like that up. Was he really in denial about liking Derek? 

Sure, he got along with Derek, fought alongside him, helped clean him up or carry him home after a particularly rough battle, but that’s what friends did. What pack did. And he was pack.

And, yeah, okay, Derek was objectively hot and attractive in a broody, dark, and mysterious kind of way, but that didn’t mean just _Stiles_ was attracted to him and thought he was hot. Anyone with eyes and could see Derek would say the same thing, and Stiles totally qualified as anyone. Besides, even if Stiles did like Derek for more than his looks, which he did, because Derek was kind and caring in really subtle ways, and even though he outwardly demonstrated annoyance when it came to Stiles’s quirks, he never kicked him out or refused to listen to him. He was brave and loyal and always tried his best, even when the odds were against him, and Stiles admired that about him.

And… _anyway_ , even _if_ Stiles liked him more than superficially, or more than as a friend, there’s no way Derek felt similarly. Stiles could be willing to put himself out there, to an extent, but he was positive he’d only face rejection, which he’d rather not deal with.

He didn’t think it would end quite as well with Derek as it had with Lydia.

“… _you are his whole world…”_ Lydia had said.

“Psh, yeah right,” Stiles muttered to himself. He pulled up to the quite full mall parking lot and breathed a sigh as he started the process of driving up and down the aisles, to find an empty spot.

He eventually found one, at the end of the lot, but that was fine. More exercise.

As he walked into the entrance through the bustling shoppers, he tried to formulate a game plan. He didn’t exactly want to wander around the mall aimlessly, especially now that he was alone, with no Lydia to give him guidance. He tried to think of a store that would be Derek’s style, or that would have something Derek might like, and he was drawing a blank.

He picked the first department store he saw, decided he’d get some cologne for his dad, and hoped while he shopped he’d be inspired by something to give to Derek.

“Hi. Can I help you find anything?” a saleswoman asked him, as soon as he was within earshot of the perfume counter.

“Uh, yeah, actually,” Stiles said, coming closer. “I’m looking for a cologne… for my dad.”

The saleswoman nodded and bent down to gather a tray of various sample sizes of colognes. She proceeded to spray the different scents onto pieces of paper, handing them to Stiles, after she waved them a little dry, for him to smell.

The first few he could tell right away would be awful, and he tried not to scrunch his face in disgust. The fourth one, though, had a nice clean scent, not too heavy or musky, that he could see his dad wearing often, maybe not just on the rare occasion he has a date.

He pulled the fourth bottle out of the tray so he’d remember it, and kept sniffing the others that were left. The last one, for some reason, reminded him of Derek--it smelled earthy, with a leather afternote that, in Stiles’s opinion, smelled exactly like Derek’s jacket. Not that… he was ever that close to Derek’s jacket to smell it. It just, uh, seemed like it would smell the same.

Almost without a second thought he took that cologne off the tray as well.

“So you like those two?” the saleswoman asked.

“Uh, yeah. How much are they?”

She nodded and pulled out the full size bottles of both kinds. “This one,” she held up the one Stiles liked for his dad, “is thirty five, and this one,” she held up Derek’s, “is seventy five.”

Stiles’s mouth almost fell open at the cost, and knew immediately he would not be purchasing that one, no matter how much it reminded him of Derek. Besides, it’s not like Derek would need to wear something that already smelled like him anyway. Did werewolves even wear cologne? It probably messed with their sense of smell.

“Uh, I’ll just take this one,” Stiles said, pointing to the cheaper of the two. The saleswoman nodded and waved him over to the cash register around the corner from where they were standing. 

After handing over his credit card, he looked around him, wondering if he would find anything else in this store that might work for Derek, or if he should move on. Derek didn’t strike him as a tie kind of guy, and that was such a generic gift, too. It didn’t mean anything, and okay, so maybe Stiles was being silly, but he wanted his gift to be special. He wanted it to convey how much he cared about Derek and really thought about him, had put effort into picking out just the right thing.

This is why he needed Lydia, damnit!

Just as he was accepting the receipt and his card back, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. It almost looked like… but no, it couldn’t be.

He shook his head and put the receipt and card back in his wallet, stuffing it in his back pocket while he took the bag with the cologne from the saleswoman’s hand.

“Have a nice day!” the saleswoman called after him as he walked away, wandering toward the men’s clothing department.

Derek did seem to run out of shirts quickly, given how much they got torn up (along with himself) while fighting various monsters and supernatural beings. A pack of T-shirts would be a thoughtful gift, right?

Slowly, Stiles weaved through the racks of clothes in men’s apparel and passed a rack of sweaters, which gave him pause. Maybe instead of something practical, Derek could use something indulgent. He’d only ever seen Derek in a sweater once, but it had made him look soft and comfortable, and really, if Stiles had his way, he’d make sure Derek felt that way all the time.

He thumbed through the sweaters, looking at the patterns and trying to find one that screamed Derek, which none of them did. He sighed, continuing his path toward the wall of T-shirts, looking down at the racks he passed. When he finally glanced back up, he froze. 

Standing with his back to Stiles, staring up at the display of T-shirt designs, was Derek. He’d recognize that leather-jacket clad back and tight-jeaned ass anywhere.

“Shit,” he whispered to himself, which he shouldn’t have done, because Derek tilted his head and started to turn. Stiles threw himself behind a rack of puffy winter coats, hoping to god Derek hadn’t seen him.

Slowly, he peeked his head out from between jacket sleeves, but he found nothing. Confused, he stood upright from his crouch and looked around, but Derek was nowhere in sight. He could’ve sworn it was Derek he saw, but maybe it was some other muscular, leather-wearing dude. 

Deciding that he’d rather not risk possibly running into Derek in this store again, if it had been him, Stiles left to find somewhere else that might have a better gift for Derek.

He couldn’t get the idea of Derek in a nice cozy sweater out of his head, so he went inside Gap thinking they might have something. He snapped a few pics of a plain green one that felt soft and a red one with thumbholes, and texted them both to Lydia. Lydia replied back approving the green one with the size he should get, since Derek already had the red one (which, how the hell did she know Derek’s wardrobe? Or size?).

He grabbed the Lydia approved one and took it to the cash register. Except, on his path, someone out of the corner of his eye had knocked over a pile of jeans from off the table, causing an employee to groan. When Stiles turned to look at the offender, he only caught a shock of dark hair and a black leather jacket that disappeared around the corner of the store.

Frowning slightly, Stiles shook his head and carried his purchase to the register, mentally pitying the employee who was now picking up and refolding the jeans that had fallen to the floor.

With his purchase in hand, he strode out of the store, wondering if the sweater would be enough. He’s sure Derek would appreciate it, but did it really convey what he wanted? He might not admit it to Lydia, but he knew himself--he was looking for something special, something that told Derek that Stiles cared about him. Maybe Derek would take that to mean a good friend, but, secretly, Stiles hoped Derek might be able to read between the lines, and see how much Stiles liked him.

It was stupid, he knew, and he wasn’t sure why he was building up this gift so much in his head. If he were smart, he’d listen to Lydia and just tell Derek, but that debilitating fear of rejection was very real. The last thing he wanted was to ruin the tentative relationship they already had by declaring his feelings.

So meaningful gift it was; which could be left to interpretation, and it wouldn’t cause any horrifyingly awkward scenarios. Maybe.

Stiles continued down the walkway and stopped in front of the Hot Topic. It looked crowded, both with people and merchandise, but they always had fun nerdy stuff, and it wouldn’t hurt to look for himself, would it?

He shoved his way through the people and display tables and racks to try to reach the nerdy stuff along the wall. He muttered “excuse me” as he pushed through a group of giggling teenage girls, and “pardon me” as he side-stepped behind a tall man in a leather jacket, only to freeze when that man turned.

It was Derek.

For a split second both of them just stared at each other, frozen. Then, as if realizing who it was they were staring at, both of them shoved what they had in their hands behind their back.

“Why are you following me!? Did Scott tell you I was here?!” Derek growled.

“Following?! What?! Scott? I haven’t--why are you even in here?!” Stiles waved to encompass the store around them. “You might look emo, but you’re not actually a goth-type person.” He paused. “Are you?”

Derek rolled his eyes. “I’m not here for me.”

Stiles continued, choosing to ignore that statement briefly. “If anything, I should accuse you of following me! You’re the one that keeps turning up where I am.”

Derek stared at him, deadpan, as if it was completely useless to continue this argument. Which, okay, true.

“Who are you here for?”

Derek’s eyes widened, and he straightened up. “No one.”

“Uh, that’s not what you said, buddy. What do you have behind your back?”

“Nothing!” Derek said, voice clearly agitated, and almost fearful, if Stiles hazarded a guess.

“Who would you be shopping for in a Hot Topic? Boyd doesn’t strike me as the type. Neither does Isaac. Is it Erica? Don’t you think she has enough metal spike-studded chokers?”

“It’s not for--” Derek stopped himself. “It’s none of your business. If you’ll excuse me,” he said, walking backward from Stiles, hands still behind his back.

Except the store was too crowded for Derek to do that, and before Stiles could stop him or shout out a warning, Derek backed into an entire display of Funko Pops, sending the boxes of figurines crashing to the floor, with Derek landing on his ass among the pile.

Smothering a laugh, Stiles quickly held his hand out to help Derek up out of the mess, while surreptitiously seeing what it was that Derek had clutched behind him (and was now on the floor in front of him). It was, what Stiles would guess, a relatively expensive _Star Wars_ figurine. Upon closer inspection, it was a Boba Fett nutcracker, which Stiles immediately fell in love with.

Sensing Stiles analyzing the gift, Derek stooped and snatched it from the floor before Stiles could, and practically ran to the cash register, leaving behind a shocked Stiles, a mess of Pop figures, and a very defeated and somewhat angry Hot Topic employee.

Instinct told Stiles to chase after Derek and pepper him with questions, but he also felt a little guilty leaving all the dolls everywhere. He apologized to the employee, picked up a few, then decided that was good enough, and weaved his way through people to get to Derek.

A ways ahead of him, he could see Derek handing over his credit card then accepting it back with a receipt and a bag. Stiles needed to get to him before he disappeared into the mass of mall shoppers. With a bit of shoving and muttered apologies, he caught up to Derek right as he had maneuvered his way around a group of teenagers blocking the store entrance.

“Derek!” Stiles shouted, holding him back with a hand on his shoulder that Derek desperately tried to shake off. “Who’s the _Star Wars_ figure for?”

“Scott,” Derek said quickly, as he moved past the crowd and started down the hallway, clearly trying to get away from Stiles.

“Scott?! He’s never even seen _Star Wars_. He’d have no appreciation or even know what the hell that is.”

Derek stopped in his tracks, looking like he regretted even answering. “It’s for me.”

“Well, which is it dude? First it was for Scott, now it’s for you?”

“It’s for Scott to give to me.”

Stiles eyed him suspiciously. “Uh huh. And why are you buying your own present?”

“Because Scott is an idiot and doesn’t know what I like.”

Stiles tilted his head because, yeah, makes sense. But also, is there some secret werewolf gift exchange he doesn’t know about? Ignoring that, Stiles continued his questioning.

“You love _Star Wars_?”

Derek shrugged. “Yeah. So?”

“That’s… uh that’s pretty cool. I really like _Star Wars,_ too.”

Derek looked at him like he was an idiot. “Yes. I know.” He pointedly looked at Stiles’ chest, causing Stiles to look down and realize he was wearing a _Star Wars_ themed shirt.

Stiles blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Ha, yeah.”

There was a beat of silence with neither of them saying anything. Derek looked as if he was ready to bolt, but something kept him standing there. Stiles liked to think it was him, but he highly doubted that was the case.

“Uh, so are you doing more Christmas shopping?” Stiles asked, because he kind of wanted to keep spending time with Derek, even though that was a completely idiotic idea.

“I… no--, well--” Derek looked as if he was hurting himself trying to say something.

“Okay, cool. It’s fine. I just thought maybe we--, but it’s no big deal. I’m sure you’ve got other things to do,” Stiles said, trying his best to hide his disappointment and give Derek an out he was desperately looking for. Stiles looked down at his feet, gripping the bags he held tighter in his fist, readying himself to carry on by himself.

“Are you hungry?” Derek said, forcing Stiles’s head to pop up to stare at him.

“What?”

“Are. You. Hungry,” Derek repeated, slowly, like Stiles was hard of hearing.

Stiles should not eat, he literally just had a meal with Lydia not thirty minutes ago, but Derek was seriously asking him if he wanted food, and heavily implied the food would be eaten with him.

There’s no way Stiles would be saying no to eating food with Derek.

“Uh, sure. Do you just want to go to the food court?”

At the words, Derek made a face. A negative face.

“Or not,” Stiles added quickly. “There’s some restaurants upstairs?” 

Derek nodded. “Cheesecake Factory is there, right?”

Stiles, with a wicked grin, asked, “Does growly, broody Derek have a sweet tooth for cheesecake?”

Derek rolled his eyes, turned around and left, striding towards the stairs.

Stiles took that as a yes.

~

The wait (and crowd) at the Cheesecake Factory ended up being way more than either Stiles or Derek could handle, so they ordered to go at the cheesecake counter and took their slices of cheesecake outside on the patio balcony entrance.

It wasn’t too cold out, and considering how stifling it was inside the restaurant, the cool breeze outside was welcoming.

Stiles stifled a grin as he watched Derek savor his bites of cheesecake. It was like Derek had been given a gift, or like it was the last piece of cheesecake he’d have for the rest of his life. If he didn’t know better, Stiles would think Derek was having some kind of supernatural experience.

In the span of twenty minutes with him, Stiles had two solid gift ideas for the man beside him, and unfortunately, his wallet would prevent him from buying both. Maybe he could make a cheesecake instead of giving him a giftcard to get one?

“Do you not like yours?” Derek said, interrupting Stiles’s thoughts.

“What?” Stiles asked. He looked down at his uneaten piece of cheesecake and then back up at Derek. “Oh, uh, right,” he said sheepishly, taking a bite.

“So,” Stiles started around a mouthful, “do you have more shopping to do?”

Derek shrugged. “The rest I can do online. I don’t… like shopping in malls.”

Nodding, Stiles added, “Crowds. Probably not great for werewolf senses, huh?”

There was a hum of agreement from Derek. 

A beat of silence, then Derek cleared his throat. “Do, uh, you still need to do more shopping?” he asked haltingly.

In truth, Stiles still needed to get a few more things. Lydia was impossible to shop for, and while Scott would be happy with just about anything, Stiles still hadn’t gotten anything for him yet. Not to mention he’d now decided it would be best to return the sweater he’d gotten for Derek, and get him something else. Not that he could tell Derek that.

“Uh, I have a few more things I need to get, but--”

“I can go with you,” Derek interrupted, closing his now empty cheesecake container, which, when did he finish eating it so quickly?

“But… you just said you hate malls?”

Instead of replying, Derek got up, and moved to throw away his trash. He looked back at Stiles with an eyebrow raised, as if to say “well, are you coming?”

For a moment Stiles was too shocked to move. Derek was willingly going shopping with him, even after he said he was done and that he didn’t like being in crowded malls because of his senses. Why was Stiles still sitting there staring at Derek in wonder?!

He shoved the last of his cheesecake in his mouth, which was a lot, and now he probably looked like a chipmunk, but whatever. He scurried forward to throw his trash away and meet Derek, who was already going through the doors back into the mall.

~

Despite Derek’s displeasure of shopping in malls, their subsequent trip around the mall wasn’t that bad. He only grumbled about the crowds a few times, but otherwise he patiently walked beside Stiles as he rambled about things, helped him decide which T-shirt would be the best for Scott and which make-up set would be the best for Lydia.

He was surprisingly helpful and good company to boot. Of course Stiles couldn’t get Derek’s gift with him standing next to him, so he resigned himself to braving the mall again some other time.

When they finally parted ways, Derek even walking Stiles all the way back to his car before saying goodbye, Stiles felt like what just happened seemed weirdly like a date. An odd, impromptu, shopping date.

And it was really nice.

If only it had been an actual date.

~

Erica and Isaac bullied Derek into letting everyone do a gift exchange and potluck at his loft. Stiles was positive Derek didn’t actually put up much of a fight, but he doesn’t say anything. Everyone was jovial and full of the random assortment of food they brought over to share. There was pizza and mashed potatoes and cookies and candy. It should’ve been gross, but it worked for them.

Now that they were full and relaxed, they started passing out the presents. Somehow Derek and Stiles ended up sitting next to each other, and Stiles tried not to be too visibly thrilled by his proximity to Derek.

For a moment, he didn’t even open the small pile of presents in front of him, too happy to watch everyone else open theirs, laughing at the joke gifts, smiling at the thoughtful ones. They had dealt with a lot of crap over the last several months, and to be together to celebrate and have fun felt like quite an achievement for them.

“You going to open your presents?” Derek asked quietly, gesturing to the gifts in front of Stiles.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Stiles said, stopping when he noticed the gift at the top of the pile with a tag claiming it was from Derek. “You got me something?” Stiles asked, eyes widened slightly when he looked back at Derek.

“I got everyone something,” Derek said in answer, like it should be obvious. Which, Stiles guessed it should be, seeing as Derek was the alpha, after all. What kind of alpha didn’t get everyone in his pack a present?

“You going to open the one I got you?” Stiles asked, nodding his head toward the package from him that Derek had in his hand.

Derek rolled his eyes and started opening his present, and to keep from staring, Stiles ripped into his. He glanced from the corner of his eye while Derek opened it but tried to focus on his own present.

When he finally removed the wrapping and opened the box, he let out a surprised laugh. Inside was the Boba Fett nutcracker he had seen Derek buy at Hot Topic, the one Derek had claimed he was getting for himself to save Scott the trouble.

“I thought this was for you?” Stiles asked.

“It was always meant for you. I had to make something up since you’d seen it.”

Stiles grinned and watched as Derek finally opened his gift, revealing a similar Star Wars-themed gift. It was another nutcracker, but this one was a stormtrooper.

Derek chuckled as he held it up, setting it next to Stiles’s Boba Fett.

“Our gifts go pretty well together,” Derek remarked, gazing at their gifts next to each other.

Subtly, Stiles scooted closer to Derek. “You think maybe it’s not just our gifts that go well together?”

Derek lifted an eyebrow and stared at Stiles, their faces close. Stiles knew Derek well enough to know Derek was resisting rolling his eyes. “That’s what I meant.”

“Meant what?”

This time, Derek did roll his eyes. “Stiles, shut up so I can kiss you and ask you out.”

Derek didn’t give Stiles a chance to reply and pressed his lips to his. They might knock over the nutcrackers in the process, but neither of them noticed.

Eventually, the wolf whistles and catcalls got loud enough to distract them, and they broke apart, looking sheepish. Everyone else looked on with smiles and a few muttered “about time”s before going back to their other gifts.

Stiles started laughing when he opened Lydia’s gift. When Derek, confused, held up a similar one from Lydia, a towel monogrammed with his initials, Stiles lost it, falling back in the wrapping paper, laughing.

“I feel like I’m missing something,” Derek said with a frown.

“I’ll explain later,” Stiles said through laughter. Derek pointedly looked at Lydia, who was doing a very good job of ignoring them both, but Stiles saw the satisfied smirk she held.

It looked like Stiles wouldn’t be swimming in that sea now.

**Author's Note:**

> The art for this is by the lovely [inkforwords](https://inkforwordsart.tumblr.com/). Thank you so much for creating something for my story!
> 
> Come say hi on my [tumblr](http://literaryoblivion.tumblr.com/) or [my twitter](http://twitter.com/lit_oblivion).


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